Koko: A Talking Gorilla
Directed by Barbet Schroeder • 1978 • France
In 1977, acclaimed director Barbet Schroeder and cinematographer Nestor Almendros entered the universe of the world’s most famous primate to create the captivating documentary KOKO: A TALKING GORILLA. The film introduces us to Koko soon after she was brought from the San Francisco Zoo to Stanford University by Dr. Penny Patterson for a controversial experiment—she would be taught the basics of human communication through American Sign Language. An entertaining, troubling, and still relevant documentary, KOKO: A TALKING GORILLA sheds light on the ongoing ethical and philosophical debates over the individual rights of animals and brings us face-to-face with an amazing gorilla caught in the middle.
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Koko: A Talking Gorilla
Directed by Barbet Schroeder • 1978 • France
In 1977, acclaimed director Barbet Schroeder and cinematographer Nestor Almendros entered the universe of the world’s most famous primate to create the captivating documentary KOKO: A TALKING GORILLA. The film introduces us to Koko soon after she was ...
Extras
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Barbet Schroeder on KOKO
In this interview, conducted in New York in 2006, director Barbet Schroeder discusses the film’s origins, documentary filmmaking, and what it was like working with Koko.